“I Think We Go To Italy”: David Henrie On Potential ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ Movie And That Finale

WIZARDS BEYOND WAVERLY PLACE - Disney’s “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” stars David Henrie arsenic Justin Russo, Janice LeAnn Brown arsenic Billie, Alkaio Thiele arsenic Roman Russo, Max Matenko arsenic Milo Russo, Taylor Cora arsenic Winter, and Mimi Gianopulos arsenic Giada Russo. (Disney)

Disney

When I chat to David Henrie, the Wizards Beyond Waverly Place finale has not aired yet. By extension, neither has the ensuing soiled laundry erstwhile the last section released for nationalist viewing, earlier this week.

For the un-caught up, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is the sequel show to Emmy-winning Disney IP Wizards of Waverly Place, primitively starring Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin arsenic Alex, Justin and Max Russo, Jennifer Stone arsenic Harper Finkle and David Deluise and Maria Canals-Barrera arsenic Jerry and Theresa Russo.

Gomez played Alex, rebellious mediate kid of the magical Russo family who owned a sub shop connected Waverly Place and often sewage themselves into and retired of a multitude of magical scrapes.

The sequel bid focuses connected Justin Russo and his family, who person to woody pinch a caller summation erstwhile Alex shows up successful their surviving room pinch Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown), a spunky woman pinch overmuch magical power.

Gomez and Henrie are listed arsenic executive producers; Gomez, DeLuise and Canals-Barrera were the only characters who made return appearances from the original series. So far.

This article contains spoilers for the four-part finale of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place: The Story So Far

Season 2 near disconnected pinch the expansive uncover that Billie was Alex’s girl each along, correct earlier Alex jumps into a magical rift to prevention the full family from her father-in-law Nicodemus Penwolf (Tobias Jelinek). Billie is near devastated and unsocial again.

In this last season, Billie decides to way down her mom and dad, and put an extremity to Nicodemus’ evil. What sent OG fans into a tizzy, however, was the trailer, which showed instrumentality favourite and Alex’s erstwhile existent emotion Mason Greyback (Gregg Sulkin) sound astatine her door, telling her he missed her.

The finale, aired August 4, revealed that Alex finds herself successful an alternate magnitude wherever Mason appears astatine her door, seemingly astir to propose — until he reveals that he cannot, because he is dead. The shocking revelation came pinch nary backstory aliases an mentation of his origin of death, and Mason’s last words to Alex delivered were, “I’ll ever emotion you, Alex Russo, and I’ll ever beryllium watching complete you.”

Fans had questions. Fans were me.

Why Mason Died On Wizards Beyond Waverly Place

“Billie is evidently not Mason’s daughter, you know? Alex, aft Mason passed, fell successful emotion pinch personification other and they started a family. But there’s ever a typical spot for Mason successful Alex’s heart, and truthful we wanted to bespeak the joyousness of that relationship, but besides observe this caller one, this caller family that she’s starting. And this was a very clear measurement of doing it," says Henrie of that twist.

When I inquire whether different options were considered — immoderate astatine each that would extremity pinch Mason still live — he confirms they were. "The writers talked astir a cardinal different things," he says. “And this was the cleanest path.”

In different interview pinch TVLine, he elaborated, "Look, he was an aged werewolf, and werewolves walk on. Maybe he didn’t get capable moonlight, I don’t know." He added that Gregg Sulkin understood the determination and told Henrie, “Yeah, it would beryllium reliable if you kept maine successful the picture. That would person been a reliable 1 for fans to get their mind around.”

As executive producer, he was coming alongside Gomez erstwhile Sulkin and Jennifer Stone (who returned arsenic the very assured Harper Finkle) were backmost connected set. “It was truthful fun. It was truthful special. Greg and I were backmost astatine being goofy kids again. He was awesome and he brought his aforesaid charming, loving energy. Yeah, it was crazy.”

OG Cast Members Missing From Wizards Beyond Waverly Place

Not everybody was happy pinch really the show wrapped things up.

Original bid showrunner Todd J. Greenwald, who had named Justin’s characteristic aft his mediate name, posted connected Substack that he would “undo the full Beyond canon successful 1 elemental chapter. By simply ignoring it,” adding that he would explicate it distant by saying it was each Max’s dream.

Jake T. Austin’s absence arsenic Max Russo seems to beryllium the 2nd astir accordant instrumentality title aft Mason’s death, and Austin and Henrie addressed it pinch conflicting statements connected societal media. Both Henrie and showrunner Scott Thomas concurred separately that Austin was asked to return to the show. Thomas also said David Deluise, who reprised his domiciled arsenic Russo family patriarch Jerry for 2 erstwhile episodes, had been asked to return for the finale, from which he was absent.

Austin, connected the different hand, posted to his Instagram communicative that he had felt “dismissed” by the accumulation for not being invited backmost for the first season.

The Last Day On The Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Set

At the clip we speak, Henrie is much focused connected speaking astir his young co-stars, the oldest of whom (Janice LeAnn Brown, who plays Billie) is only 15.

"I sewage to opportunity things to the kids that I would person erstwhile wanted said to maine erstwhile we first wrapped connected the original show," he tells me. "Actors subordinate capacity and value. ‘If group for illustration my performance, I americium valuable.’ I was conscionable trying to show the kids — your worth is not based connected your output. Your worth is based connected thing wholly different. This is not the end. This is the beginning."

Henrie has spoken antecedently astir really he wanted the group acquisition to beryllium different for this show than the ones he grew up on.

“Sets are this wonderfully beautiful, chaotic operation of people. You have, anyplace from 50 to 100 aliases 150 group connected immoderate fixed day, depending connected the episode, each benignant of colliding together,” originates Henrie.

It’s a highly superior intensive business pinch tons of money spent each day, which makes it moreover much analyzable erstwhile adults and children collide into that mix, he continues.

“It is simply a spot wherever if you’re not conscious and you’re not starring correctly, it tin beryllium a very negative, very toxic environment. I’ve been connected plentifulness of sets successful the past that I would conscionable truthful dread to spell to. A spot wherever you’re treated for illustration tools, wherever you’re not literally, but you’re beaten down if you don’t execute your objective. And it very overmuch is fear-based, and I sought to create a spot that, particularly the kids knew that they were safe and each the adults knew that they’re children, truthful we shouldn't dainty them for illustration adults.”

“I’ve worked pinch a batch of board arsenic a kid myself, very overmuch for illustration treating maine for illustration an adult. 'I expect this, I expect that. What are you doing? You’re failing here.’ And arsenic a small kid, it’s like, 3 times arsenic intimidating because you’re staring up astatine this grown elephantine of a personification coming down connected you. And it’s like, talk to the kid for illustration a kid. Help them recognize what they need.”

He besides tells maine that parents and unit came up to him connected the past time to opportunity it was the champion group they had ever worked on, which lead prima Brown independently corroborated to maine in an earlier interview. For Henrie, this is the statement he wanted to extremity on.

What Comes Next For Wizards Beyond Waverly Place

The finale ends pinch a changeable of each the characters aged and caller (minus Max Russo, Harper Finkle and Jerry Russo, positive Damien Penwolf) gathered astir the Russo family’s sub shop, the original show’s iconic setting.

Henrie is presently moving connected his accumulation institution Novo Inspire Studios, focusing connected “underserved audiences” to make “good, wholesome content.” Would he see going the Big Bang Theory way and prosecute different Wizards sequel aliases spinoff?

“I deliberation the fans are going to person to beryllium the ones to fto america cognize what’s next,” he says pragmatically. “I’d emotion to do a movie. I’d emotion to do a spin-off movie. I deliberation that'd beryllium really fun. We haven't done 1 yet."

He continues giving much details, which gives maine the chopped belief he’s thought astir this a lot. “Remember really we did the movie wherever we went to Hawaii, successful the original show? One of those kinds of movies. It’ll return spot sometime aft what you’ve seen.”

“And I deliberation we spell to Italy though. I deliberation we spell to Italy 'cause we’ve gone to Hawaii. I deliberation we spell to Italy and research the magical ruins of Italy.”

He smiles. “I’ve thought of it.”

All episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place are now streaming connected Disney Plus.